I´m in the process of coming up with new races for my TU which are to replace the K´Kree, Hivers and Droyne. My K´Kree replacements are furthest along, right now, so I thought I´d just share my thoughts so far.
The Combine (that´s a working title only) are an insectoid species, with a roughly centauroid shape, except for a tail built like a scorpion´s, though that one ends in pincers, not a sting. They have three pairs of legs and two pairs of arms. The upper pair are very strong, with pincers like the tail; these pincers can be used as weapons, they are (for the average specimen) strong enough to break most bones in a human body, but they have enough fine control to hold, even lift, a human without injuring him. The lower pair of arms is weaker and has eight digits, effectively four fingers and four thumbs, one opposing each finger.
The Combine evolved as a hive mind, much like Terran insects, but have long since developed past that. They do, however, still have a very strong empathic sense, and their communication relies on that, plus a large variety of pheromone signals, much more than on sound of body language - Combine spoken language is good for exchanging pure information, but not so good for speaking about feelings or intentions or making small talk. Human scientists are not sure if the empathy is actually some kind of paranormal sense, i.e. a form of telepathy, or merely a subconscious ability to "read" the pheromones.
The major factor in developing and fine-tuning the empathic sense is the continued exposure to other individuals´ pheromones. The more Combine there are in a given group, the better will the members of this group get along with each others. The flip side of this is that individuals cut off from contact with others of their species with start going crazy rather quickly, within a few days at best, and eventually become catatonic.
There have always been a few freak individuals who do not develop an empathic sense and do not react adversely to pheromone withdrawal; these used to be employed as solitary scouts searching for new food sources, for the benefit of the rest of the community, and in modern (interstellar) times, form the equivalent of the Scouts (or of Droyne sports, for that matter) and diplomats. However, these loners, for all their usefulness to the community, are seen as the equivalent of sociopaths, because they do not share the empathic sense of the rest of their species - it is thought that the reason they do not go insane or catatonic while alone is that they are already dangerously insane to begin with. The Combine refer to these individuals as being "un-aware".
You can imagine, then, how the Combine felt when they encountered their first alien species - the humans. There they found a whole civilization, billions upon billions of tool-using - and what was worse, weapon-using - creatures, all of them were "un-aware". Countless billions of loose guns, of ticking time-bombs, of disasters waiting to happen, and all of them perched right on the doorstep of the Combine... would have scared the pants right off them, if they wore any.
I think it is not difficult to see, then, how relations between humanity and the Combine are just about as strained as they are with the K´Kree in the OTU...
The Combine (that´s a working title only) are an insectoid species, with a roughly centauroid shape, except for a tail built like a scorpion´s, though that one ends in pincers, not a sting. They have three pairs of legs and two pairs of arms. The upper pair are very strong, with pincers like the tail; these pincers can be used as weapons, they are (for the average specimen) strong enough to break most bones in a human body, but they have enough fine control to hold, even lift, a human without injuring him. The lower pair of arms is weaker and has eight digits, effectively four fingers and four thumbs, one opposing each finger.
The Combine evolved as a hive mind, much like Terran insects, but have long since developed past that. They do, however, still have a very strong empathic sense, and their communication relies on that, plus a large variety of pheromone signals, much more than on sound of body language - Combine spoken language is good for exchanging pure information, but not so good for speaking about feelings or intentions or making small talk. Human scientists are not sure if the empathy is actually some kind of paranormal sense, i.e. a form of telepathy, or merely a subconscious ability to "read" the pheromones.
The major factor in developing and fine-tuning the empathic sense is the continued exposure to other individuals´ pheromones. The more Combine there are in a given group, the better will the members of this group get along with each others. The flip side of this is that individuals cut off from contact with others of their species with start going crazy rather quickly, within a few days at best, and eventually become catatonic.
There have always been a few freak individuals who do not develop an empathic sense and do not react adversely to pheromone withdrawal; these used to be employed as solitary scouts searching for new food sources, for the benefit of the rest of the community, and in modern (interstellar) times, form the equivalent of the Scouts (or of Droyne sports, for that matter) and diplomats. However, these loners, for all their usefulness to the community, are seen as the equivalent of sociopaths, because they do not share the empathic sense of the rest of their species - it is thought that the reason they do not go insane or catatonic while alone is that they are already dangerously insane to begin with. The Combine refer to these individuals as being "un-aware".
You can imagine, then, how the Combine felt when they encountered their first alien species - the humans. There they found a whole civilization, billions upon billions of tool-using - and what was worse, weapon-using - creatures, all of them were "un-aware". Countless billions of loose guns, of ticking time-bombs, of disasters waiting to happen, and all of them perched right on the doorstep of the Combine... would have scared the pants right off them, if they wore any.
I think it is not difficult to see, then, how relations between humanity and the Combine are just about as strained as they are with the K´Kree in the OTU...
